Ashes to Skittles
[2007-05-11 09:00]

My family has a somewhat odd tradition when dealing with our deceased.

It's odd both because, as a tradition, it just started a couple of years ago, and because the method we've chosen to store our remains is not something that I'd seen or heard about before (although it's clearly a common practice).

When my father died, we had his remains cremated. Rather than keep his ashes around the house, however (a small condominium, actually), my mother decided to inter the cremated remains of several family members in a cremation plot.

Cremation plots are burial plots designed to hold one or more cremation urns. The plot my family purchased (in the same cemetary where Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried) is about the same size as a "regular" grave and is supposed to be able to hold up to six cremation chests. Each chest -- essentially a concrete box -- holds one cremation urn.

When it came time to inter my father's ashes, we also interred the ashes of my brother, uncle and grandfather at the same time. So, this was like a quad shot ritual latte. Before this, we really didn't have any kind of formal tradition -- no open casket funerals or wakes, like one sees in movies or the Sopranos.

And now that we're arranging to inter my mother's ashes into the family plot, I find I'm now faced with another uncommon decision: what kind of cremation urn to get.

As the cemetary director noted, since the urn is just going to be buried, it really doesn't have to be anything special. In fact, the funeral home sells urns that look like glorified safe-deposit boxes. On the other hand, I'd like to use an urn that I think my mother would have liked. This is similar to deciding how fancy a coffin one should get, I imagine. And once again, as with all things, the answer is on the Internet.

In this case, Everlife Memorials has an interesting selection of urns. Most of these are designed to be kept in one's home, I'm sure, but these seem suitably nice.

In fact, many of these look so cool that I'm half-seriously considering getting some to keep around as decorations. Plus, they're urns, so they're functional. Instead of someone's remains, though, I'd use them to store other stuff, such as candy, tea, dice, crack cocaine or loose change. Take a Penny, leave a Penny.